Rockstar Confessions

Kerrang!, May 2014

THE LEGENDARY DRUMMER IS A MENACE WITH A CAN OF COKE

Rockstar Confessions: Taylor Hawkins WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP?
"I just wanted to be accepted. Some money would've been nice, and doing something I enjoyed, but, honestly, the only thing I ever really wanted to do is what I do. I'm so blessed in that, and I never take it for granted. Though I think after your teens and 20s, being accepted is a little less important. I mean, come on, I'm accepted by the beautiful woman who is my wife, and I'm accepted by Foo Fighters, who let me play drums, and people seem to like what we do!"

HAVE YOU EVER LET SOMEONE TAKE THE BLAME FOR YOU?
"Oh yeah. In fact, I put the blame on others many times. If I break a dish at home — which definitely happens — I'll just say one of the kids did it! They're my little scapegoats. Wow, how bad a father am I?! That said, they're kinda good at putting the blame in the right place. When they're six and you say, 'Okay we'll have a Coke, but don't mention it to mom,' the first fucking thing they say when they get home is, 'Me and dad had a Coke!' I'm sure I've blamed some pretty bad stuff on others, too. I'm a really terrible person."

WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD UNSEE?
"There are a lot of fucked-up horror movies I wish I could unsee, but only because I love them and would like to see them for the first time again! I love being traumatised by them. The creepiest ones are the old '60s and '70s ones that people tend to forget about. There's one called The Devil's Rain [1975] with John Travolta in it, and that one really messes with you, and an Oliver Reed one called Burnt Offerings [1976]. When you're a kid, that will mess you up for life!"

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
"I lost both of my parents over the past couple of years, and when I'm by myself sometimes and I start thinking about them, or about how life is so swift, it'll get to me. I can go off into a corner by myself with nobody else around and shed a tear or two. I think that's good for you. It's like taking a shit — you need to clear the system! I know some men who will cry at the drop of a hat. I'm not anti-crying, but I absolutely never cry in front of people!"

HAVE YOU EVER STOLEN ANYTHING?
"Oh God, I was such a thief in my teens. We'd go to a party that someone was having in their parents' house, and me and my friends would go into the bedrooms and steal tons of shit. It's horrible, really. I was just a horrible person to do that kind of thing. I never even really got caught, either, so I still steal! No, I'm kidding — I have money now, so I don't have to, which is nice. I really am absolutely morally against that now, though, and want to teach my children the exact same thing."

IF YOU FIND SOMEONE'S WALLET ON THE STREET, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT?
"Well, as you can imagine, young Taylor would have taken the money out, ditched the wallet and laughed a whole lot! Because when I was younger I walked everywhere, and I actually did stumble upon a wallet or two, and was always real happy about it. I haven't found one in quite some time, but in the last 20 years, something, thankfully, has changed in me, and I actually want to get it back to the owner! Now, if I was near a restaurant, I'd go inside and maybe leave it there, but failing that I'd look at what was in there for a phone number or something."

WHAT'S THE WORST LIE YOU'VE EVER TOLD?
"I'm not telling you that! That's too much, buddy — next question!"

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU FELT JEALOUS?
"I try really hard to fight envy — it's a really unpretty thing, and my wife is really good at not letting me get envious over things. She's good at calling me out when I'm being a baby about something, and I think that emotion really does bring out the child in you, which is bullshit. I mean, if me and my wife got divorced and she got a new boyfriend, I'd be real fucking jealous, and that's fair enough. But to be jealous because someone has a better car or better house or more success than you? You just need to step back from yourself and try and be logical about the situation."

WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENS TO YOU WHEN YOU FINALLY DIE?
"I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I think you're just fucking worm food and a memory — that's it. It's easy for me to call a band The Birds Of Satan, because those words have no fucking meaning to me, at all. Satan? God? They're just words. I think that religion is a get-out-of-jail-free card for a lot of people around the world. It can be a case of thinking, 'Okay, I'm allowed to do this because I'm a good Christian,' or, 'Sorry, my Muslim beliefs make it so I have to be like this.' We're all much more intelligent than that now. No-one looks at the sun wondering what it is. I get that some people need some bigger picture to hold on to, because life can be really fucking hard, but Biblical stories are at best fables. If done right, they're great moral codes to live by — but we're human beings, and too many use those codes for the wrong reasons."

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